To See Konoha
by Lady Red 88
Summary: 5 yrs ago, Sasuke betrayed Akatsuki and slew Uchiha Madara to protect Naruto and then mysteriously vanished. Presently, an injured Naruto is rescued by a blind man and begins to see a startling resemblence to his missing friend. TEMP HIATUS.
1. Prologue

**Prologue **

_The sky was so blue Naruto thought. So blue and distant. He could get lost looking at such a beautiful sight. He smiled weakly to himself, perhaps for the first time understanding why Shikamaru pursued cloud watching so diligently. It was almost like if he searched hard enough, he could find all life's answers. It was such a nice thought and such a captivating sight that he could almost forget the crushing weight on his chest, the fire of broken bones in his body, the agony of __**his**__ betrayal and __**his**__ vow to destroy Konoha. _

_Konoha…_

_Their home. _

_It was both of theirs, had always been. But while Naruto fought with everything he had to protect it, __**he**__ simply wanted to destroy it. _

_Naruto didn't ask why because __**he**__ would never tell him. He might get some story like he'd gotten a year ago when he'd finally found __**him**__ again in Oto. But in the end, it wouldn't be the truth. It wouldn't be what __**he**__ held in __**his**__ heart. _

_He didn't understand it and he'd never liked it but since the day Naruto had met…Sasuke…he'd never once spoken the truth – never once dared to let Naruto in. And finally, Naruto had stopped trying. He couldn't let Sasuke go but he couldn't pierce a darkness his friend didn't want to be pierced. _

_And in the end, in order to free himself from Naruto, he'd given Naruto a choice – a choice he couldn't make no matter how much he cared for Sasuke. _

_It was Sasuke or Konoha. _

_There was no real contest. It had to be Konoha. It had always come foremost and for the first time, Sasuke was truly on the other side and absolutely unreachable forever. _

_The weight on his chest increased and Naruto moaned against the pain of cracking ribs pressing against his lungs. _

_The orange mask leered down at him, mocking him for who he was. Mocking him for believing in Sasuke so badly. Mocking him for choosing Konoha first when it was burning all around them. _

_Through the single hole in the mask the Sharingan glinted, whirring slowly in its socket. It alone had stopped him. It had suppressed the fox's chakra just as Sasuke had done a year ago. _

_Naruto didn't know who he was though some part of him was desperately grappling with the fact that all along, there had been one other last Uchiha besides Sasuke and Itachi. Yet for all his furious questions, this man had only told him three things: _

_His name was Tobi. _

_Sasuke had betrayed Konoha and joined Akatsuki – taking his brother's place. _

_And Naruto was finally going to die today. He, Tobi, was going to capture Naruto and he was going to take him back to their hideout and this time, there would be no one there to stop them taking Kyuubi and there would be no one to give up their life to save Naruto's own like there had been for Gaara. _

_Despite his impending death and the knowledge that his dreams were rapidly shrinking into nothing, Naruto couldn't summon the energy to think about them or to mourn their loss. All he could think of was the quiet, brooding boy who'd sat behind him in their classes at the academy and who's aura hadn't seemed forbidding like so many believed but actually seemed sad and lonely to Naruto. _

_He wanted to hate Sasuke, wanted to loath the sight of him but he couldn't. That one distant image of him so long ago had kept his friend alive to him and had reminded him that Sasuke had never needed saving from anyone but himself. And now, it was finally too late and Naruto's greatest dream – the one he hadn't spouted about to anyone who'd listen but actually kept locked deep inside his heart – was never going to be fulfilled. Team 7 would die with his death. _

"_All ninja face death but until they're actually on the receiving end when they know there's no escape and they can't seem to get away from that awful truth, they never quite realise how truly terrifying that is. So tell me Uzumaki Naruto; are you afraid to die?" _

"_Should I be?" he murmured. _

_Naruto wasn't afraid. Death wasn't important enough right now for him to fear it. There was only that lonely little boy from years ago. _

"_Hmm, you should be," replied Tobi. _

_The wind picked up a little, making his shrouded black clock with the red clouds sway gently. Naruto hated that clock more than anything else. It had torn one boy's life apart and now, if had finally claimed him. _

_Konoha wouldn't die – not today or ever. _

_It would get over it, it would survive and in time, it would kill Sasuke because Sasuke no longer protected its people. He had given up the safety of his people and thus, Konoha had given up the protection of its own. _

_He wondered where Sakura was. He wondered if she was alright. There'd been so much blood the last time he'd seen her. So much blood as she slumped in the shade of the damaged sakura tree her body had impacted against, the cheery blossoms falling all around her still form. _

_Naruto couldn't believe she was dead. Sakura-chan had gotten way to strong to die and she wouldn't – not with Kakashi-sensei there; Kakashi-sensei who had finally revealed why he was worthy of being Team 7's sensei. With Yuki, the giant white wolf for a boss summons, Hatake Kakashi, son of Konoha's White Fang, was a more than formidable opponent and Akatsuki was currently finding out why. _

"_Then again," mused Tobi, drawing Naruto's attention back from the thoughts of his comrades, "I suppose for someone like you who has always failed at everything he's ever attempted, death must be a welcome end." _

"_Death?" whispered Naruto. "Why would I welcome it? Time. Time would be the gift I'd welcome." _

_He wouldn't give up – wouldn't ever because he never went back on his promises and no amount of taunting from Tobi was going to goad him into doubting himself in his final moments. Even if he couldn't move – even if he couldn't do anything! The one thing Naruto could do was keep believing in himself and his friends and by hell he wasn't about to give up now! _

"_Suit yourself," mused Tobi. "I'll tell Sasuke you said goodbye." _

_Naruto laughed; a hollow fleeting sound broken by the blood in his lungs and the weakness of his breath. _

"_Yeah. You tell Sasuke-teme I'll see his arse on the other side." _

_Tobi cocked his head, amused by the pathetic form of the boy he was crushing beneath his heel. _

"_I doubt Sasuke cares what you say but I'll tell him." _

"_You're probably right," agreed Naruto. "But that never stopped me telling him before, no matter how much he pretends he isn't listening." _

_This time Tobi laughed and leaned forward so that he could whisper into Naruto's ear. _

"_Sasuke always hated you Naruto, I don't know why you keep insisting that he thought of you as anything other than an annoyance and perhaps someone he could use on occasion on his rise to power." _

_The words, though they sent a shaft of ice through Naruto, were not quite enough. _

"_It doesn't matter how many times you, everyone else and Sasuke says he hates me. It doesn't matter because I know that there are people out there who acknowledge me – people like Tsunade, Jiriya, Kakashi and Sakura. People like the rookie Nine and Team Gai and especially Sasuke himself. Because Sasuke was the first one to acknowledge me. After all, he told me I was his best friend." _

"_His best friend huh?" murmured Tobi. "How quaint. Did he also tell you that higher levels of the Sharingan are obtained through killing those close to you?" _

_Tobi's cruel words finally penetrated Naruto's armour and the truth of that statement could not be ignored. _

_What had Sasuke said all those years ago? _

"_**I won't do as you say. I won't kill him. I'll achieve power in my own way." **_

_He said that and left, choosing not to kill Naruto who'd only dimly heard his words while he lay beneath the falling rain in the Valley of the End. _

_With sickening clarity the words all made sense and Tobi saw the truth in Naruto's eyes. He knew the blond ninja had heard and deduced the reason why Sasuke had never killed him before. _

"_Sad isn't it? But that's the strength of the Sharingan and only those of great power can attain it." _

_Naruto couldn't respond. He couldn't find the words to defy Tobi. _

_The thought of what Sasuke had planned had never bothered him but the thought of why – that sickened him. All along, the Uchiha had hidden his own monster and it was the demonic red eyes of his clan – the bloodline that so many believed saved others when in fact, it could only be attained through the sacrifice of your closest loved ones. _

_Tobi withdrew but Naruto hardly noticed. The glinting blade in his hands, already stained in his blood was raised and turned, ready to bring the hilt crashing down on his temple and send him into complete darkness. _

"_NARUTO!" _

_Sakura? _

_Naruto turned his head just slightly and there she was, limping towards him, struggling to make it in time. Her feet suddenly slipped in the red earth and she went down hard. _

_She wouldn't make it, Naruto knew it and so did she. _

_The tears poured down her face, washing tracks through the grime and dripping off her chin to fall gently to the ground. _

_Those beautiful green eyes of hers shouldn't cry Naruto thought. No wonder Sasuke had hated it. Maybe Sasuke had always hated him Naruto thought but perhaps all along, he hadn't been able to hate Sakura-chan whose kindness to him had never wavered no matter what he'd said or done to her. _

"_Hmm? She won't make it," remarked Tobi who'd noticed the terrified girl struggling towards them. _

"_No, she won't," agreed Naruto dully. _

_Tobi shrugged and turned away from the wounded ninja. His action ignited a fresh wave of screaming from Sakura who was desperate to get to him – who clearly didn't want to be left alone. But there was nothing he could do and Naruto knew it. He would face and accept his fate and hope that Kakashi-sensei would never loose Sakura-chan because she would be his last precious person after this. _

_The kunai came up and then it was swinging down with lighting speed. _

_Naruto didn't look at it or Tobi. _

_He looked at the sky and noticed how blue it was. It was a beautiful thing. _

_Blood. _

_Blood flew through the air, marring the perfect clarity of the blue sky. _

_Naruto looked back, unable to comprehend the blood nor the sword emerging from the black fabric beneath which Tobi's heart sat. _

_The silence stretched; the surrealism of the scene above Naruto making no sense to him and then, just like that, Tobi fell sideways. He collapsed onto the bloodstained earth, his clock falling sardonically around his silent form. The orange mask fell off revealing the shocked expression of its owner and wide, unseeing dark eyes. Eyes as black as night like all the Uchiha possessed. _

_Naruto looked back up, staring at the figure standing over the fallen form of the Akatsuki member. _

"_Why?" _

_**Why did you do this? Why you? I thought you…? **_

"_Because he was the final one I needed to enact my revenge upon," replied Sasuke calmly. _

_Usually so tall and erect, the Uchiha's form was bowed down by injury, his white shirt stained red by the blood of his grievances. _

_Though calm and his face expressionless, for the first time his eyes gave the truth away to Naruto. _

_**I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I'm sorry you got hurt but most of all I'm sorry I left Konoha. I don't expect you to understand or to forgive me. **_

"_Sasuke…?" _

_Sakura. _

_The green eyed ninja stared at the visage that was her old team mate – the person she thought forever beyond their reach and the one who'd finally come back to them and saved Naruto of all people. _

_Sasuke said nothing, as had always been his way. He merely stared back, allowing Sakura a moment to glimpse into the depths of his heart and then he shut the door on them. _

_Stiffly, he untied the thick rope he had carried with him from Oto from around his waist. It dropped into the dirt beside his feet followed by the sheath for his sword and the cloth that had always been bundled beneath the rope belt. The weapons pouches clipped to the white sash securing his shirt also came off and joined the other items on the ground. Finally, with a loud rip the Uchiha emblem was torn from the back of his shirt and thrown onto the bloody soil. _

"_Naruto, Sakura; I'm leaving Konoha. Please don't follow me this time. I need to be alone and to think," Sasuke said. _

_His voice was soft, supposably a warning in there but it almost sounded like pleading. _

"_Sasuke," murmured Naruto. What could he say? Don't go? Please don't leave again? _

"_Don't try and stop me Naruto," warned Sasuke. _

_Naruto hesitated, warring with himself. Sasuke hadn't asked the first time but this time he was requesting that Naruto leave him alone. Could he? Could he let Sasuke leave and disappear from their lives again? _

"_I won't, this time," he relented. _

_The promise was the hardest one he'd ever had to make but he knew in his heart that it was the right thing to do. Sasuke, for whatever reason, had just saved him and not only that, saved all of Konoha. Naruto was well aware that he was the last of the demon carriers. If he'd been caught, Konoha would have been doomed. _

_He couldn't presume to understand Sasuke, couldn't figure out why he'd vowed to destroy Konoha but if he was willing to protect Naruto no matter what words came out of his mouth to justify his actions, Naruto would let him go. _

"_Good," replied Sasuke. _

_Sakura however wasn't quite satisfied. _

"_Sasuke, will you come back?" _

"_Maybe." _

_And that was all the answer she'd get and she knew it. _

_Forming a hand seal, Sasuke looked at them one final time. _

"_Take care of yourselves Naruto, Sakura." _

"_Aa, you too Teme," replied Naruto sadly. _

_Sasuke nodded curtly and was gone, vanishing in a puff of smoke just as Kakashi had done hundreds of times before. _

_Naruto stared at the empty space his friend had just vacated. Sasuke was still an enigma and one it looked like he and Sakura would never reach. _

_When Kakashi finally found them after the fighting had ended, Sakura had managed to crawl to his side and cry herself into unconsciousness. Naruto had cried too, just like back in Oto but this time he hadn't quelled the tears and they were still evident in the trails through the filth on his face. _

_Their sensei was bloodied and tired but still upright. His Jounin vest had been ripped away and his facemask was gone, allowing Naruto his first ever uninterrupted view of his sensei's face. Looking at that strangely beautiful face, Naruto had to wonder why Kakashi hid it from the world but he didn't ask. There were more important things right now. _

_When Kakashi saw Sakura's battered form and the evidence of Naruto's tears, he froze and his single eye widened. _

"_Don't worry Kakashi-sensei. She's fine," Naruto assured his sensei. It was true. Somehow, Sakura had found the necessary chakra to seal all but her smallest scratches. There was no longer any danger of her bleeding to death._

"_What happened?" he asked. His eyes fell to rest on the fallen form of Tobi. "Did you kill him?" _

_Naruto smiled weakly. "I wish Kakashi-sensei." _

"_Then who did?" _

_The Jounin kneeled beside them and gently began examining Naruto's injuries. _

"_You'd never believe me sensei," he said. _

_Kakashi smiled back, amused by Naruto's tone. It was so much lighter than it had been for the past year. What could have happened? _

"_Try me," prodded Kakashi. _

_Naruto grinned brilliantly even though he was tired and he just wanted to go to sleep. _

"_It was Sasuke." _

"_Sasuke?" answered Kakashi sharply. _

"_Aa, Sasuke-teme! He stabbed that Tobi guy right through the heart." _

"_Did you ask why he did that?" queried Kakashi. _

"_He said he was the last person he had to kill to get his revenge," explained Naruto. _

"_Revenge?" _

_Naruto could see the cogs whirring as his sensei's eyes narrowed. Kakashi was more observant than anyone ever realised – Naruto knew that fact quite well but sometimes Kakashi's perceptiveness surprised even him. _

"_He had the Sharingan, didn't he? He was an Uchiha." _

"_Yeah, how did you know Kakashi-sensei?" _

_Kakashi shrugged and gently eased Sakura away from Naruto's side. _

"_He looks like an Uchiha plus subduing the Kyuubi's chakra would have been the only way to bring you down so easily. There have also been rumours and unaccounted reports around for years about another Uchiha survivor. Jiriya suspected it could possibly be Tobi but he never confirmed it. As to his identity because I doubt Tobi is actually his name – we'll have to go back through the records of the clans. I have an idea who it may be but I'll need some time. So, what happened to Sasuke?" asked Kakashi. _

"_He's gone." _

"_I see." _

_The copy ninja sighed wearily. _

"_Did he say why? "_

_Naruto smiled sadly. Everything was getting fuzzy now. _

"_You know Sasuke sensei. He wouldn't admit he was dying even if someone stabbed him through the chest. He wants to be alone to think. He might come back, that's what he said Kakashi-sensei." _

"_Thanks Naruto," replied Kakashi quietly. He smiled fondly down at his student and adjusted Sakura so that she was leaning more comfortably against him. _

"_Go to sleep Naruto. You've done enough for now." _

_Naruto didn't argue. _

_**Sasuke**__ he thought as the darkness encroached, __**come back some day huh? Come back to Konoha and we'll all be Team 7 again.**_

_And the darkness claimed him. _


	2. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

The chapter that was formally here has been replaced by the next chapter. I've taken down Naruto's arrival in Kisho's village to do a spot of correcting. Worked out I hated it and it didn't really fit in with the prologue I wrote that I liked so much. So anyway, I've written a new chapter which happens before the one I'm currently correcting and I've put that as the next chappy to read. I'll correct the other one that was here and it should be back up by tomorrow. Basically you guys don't have to worry about anything. I'm just re-ordering things and you'll probably want to start from the start again anyway because you've forgotten why you had this on alert in the first place.

So no cause for confusion. Anyone who's new to this story can just skip right over this note and not worry about it. It's only for those of you who've read the original first chapter that followed the Prologue.


	3. A Skirmish for Orochimaru's Scroll

**Author's Note:** That chapter that was originally Chapter One has now become Chapter Two. It'll still be in the story. I'll whack it back up tomorrow after I'm made a couple of corrections.

* * *

**Chapter One**

**A Skirmish for Orochimaru's Scroll **

The mist swirled eerily around the boat as it slipped smoothly and silently through the still waters. It hid anything beyond a few yards around them and yet both the boatman and his passenger felt the press of the looming rocky cliffs rising high above. In the clear light of day, the ravine was narrow and filled with a deceptively calm river of water, smooth on the surface but deadly beneath. The current would easily drag any fool down to the dark depths should they happen to fall in.

Seated in the bow of the boat, the passenger was not exactly the type of person the boatman would usually allow himself to come a hundred miles within. He had money though and had been willing to pay the boatman's ridiculous fair to pole him across to the other side. Even if he didn't like the situation, times were hard and the boatman wouldn't pass up the opportunity to make a buck or two despite his passenger's less than savoury...disposition.

Most people didn't like shinobi; in fact most people barely tolerated their existence in the harsh, often freezing plains and fens of Water country. Eyeing his passenger with distaste, the boatman noted that he was younger than most of the shinobi he'd ever had the unfortunate chance of meeting. He'd peg his age at about twenty – maybe twenty one even. Covered with a brown cloak, it was impossible to tell if the shinobi was armed or not. The only thing that gave away his profession was the telltale relaxed and yet slightly tense posture and the metal badge of identification he wore around his forehead like all shinobi wore somewhere about their person.

This however, was not what disturbed the boatman the most though and brought silly superstitious wives' tales to the forefront of his mind that he'd never taken much note of before now. No, what really distributed him was the unusual colouring of the man. He'd never seen such bright hair before. The golden strands were like a beacon in the misty gloom and the blue eyes as bright as the hidden sky above. The tanned skin spoke of long hours spent out in the sunshine – a rarity in Water country. Six unusual slashes like whiskers adorned the young man's cheeks. The boatman doubted there was any sort of weapon that could create such scars and concluded at some point the youth must have had them forcibly inflicted upon him.

Gradually a dark shadow appeared before them and realising they were finally reaching the opposite shore, the boatman sped up a little, his relief evident in his harried movements. Also having noticed the looming shadow, the blonde shinobi stood as the boat slid to a stop in the grainy gravel on the river shore. He flipped a coin to the boatman who caught it deftly and immediately bit the golden metal, assuring himself that the coin was indeed legitimate. When he next looked back up, the shinobi was gone, as if he'd never been there in the first place. Muttering suspiciously under his breath, the boatman looked around once and then wasting no more time, he pushed against the shore with his pole and quickly departed.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Letting loose a deep moan of discomfort, Naruto tugged feebly at his cloak fastenings. It'd become torturingly humid in the last several hours since he'd left the boatman. It'd been easy to scale the cliff side with a little chakra but once up on the flat marsh lands, he'd come under the full brunt of the sun, whose rays were rare in Water Country. It was just his luck of course that today the sun was actually shining. The humidity was so terrible that he felt as if he were trapped in a box with all the air slowly getting sucked out while an inferno raged outside. To make matters worse, he couldn't remove his cloak. Discretion was wise, especially when you were a shinobi that technically shouldn't be poking his nose about in a country you had no business in. It'd been hell avoiding the Mist shinobi in the area and it would only get worse once he crossed the ocean to the main island of Water Country where the Village Hidden in the Mist was located. Oh joy!

Still, there was one enemy even worse than a Mist shinobi and unfortunately, there were millions of them. Growling angrily, Naruto slapped the mosquito busily quenching its thirst on his cheek. Regrettably in his anger, he probably slapped a lot harder than was really necessary and thus ended up wincing mightily from the blow. He rubbed his sore cheek and when his stomach suddenly growled, he was forced to conclude things couldn't really get any worse. It was lunchtime, he had little food left and he hadn't even_ seen_ a bowl of ramen in three months. It'd been so long since he'd last partaken of the simple dish he even had nightmares about never having another bowl again.

Of course, having assumed things couldn't get any worse, Naruto immediately found out that they certainly could.

One moment he'd been innocently making his way through the marsh lands, leaping like a large toad from one dry mound in the endless stretch of water to another. In the next instant, a four man squad of Mist ANBU suddenly rose from the water around the mound he'd just leapt onto. Perfectly camouflaged, Naruto hadn't even had an inkling they were there.

Naruto froze as the four shinobi surrounded him, weapons drawn.

"Uzumaki Naruto," said the squad leader, whose mask bore a resemblance to a bull. "What are you doing in Water Country?"

Naruto wasn't surprised they knew who he was. After all, his looks were extremely distinctive and he'd made it his lifelong goal to become the Hokage. Many people had come to know his face over the years in his quest to obtain the title of Konoha's strongest shinobi.

"I'm ah...just passing through?" Naruto tried knowing full well his answer wouldn't be bought. He had to try though. Tsunade had given him strict instructions that under no circumstances were he to reveal the exact reason why he was in Water Country.

"That is not a sufficient answer," replied the Mist shinobi as expected. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was...bored?" hedged Naruto. "I needed a change of scenery?" he tried. "My girlfriend's mad at me and threatening my life so I ran away? I dunno. What do you want me to say?"

"The truth," retorted the ANBU member bluntly.

Naruto sighed in exasperation. Stoic bastard, wasn't he?

"Well I kinda can't say," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck irritably. "It's not anything bad though," he hastened to add when the ANBU's blades came up threateningly. "Just some recon work, I swear."

"You do not have permission from the Mizukage to be here, nor will you divulge your reasons why. You will accompany us back to Kirigakure. _Do not_ make us force you," announced the ANBU shinobi.

And now Naruto really knew he was in trouble. Technically speaking, the scroll he'd spent weeks searching for and finally located didn't belong to anyone in the Land of Water. It actually belonged to Orochimaru but the Sannin was dead and had been for several years now. Between them, Sasuke and Itachi had seen to that. However, the Snake Sannin's secrets were fair game and if they wanted to, the Mist shinobi could steal his secrets quite easily. But they didn't know Orochimaru had left a hideout behind in their territory and if Konoha's Fifth had anything to say about it, Mist wouldn't be laying a single finger on any of Orochimaru's numerous secrets. They were too dangerous to be trusted in the hands of anyone. The only place any of his secrets would go now would be straight into the Forbidden Scroll along with all the other jutsu and top secret information of a similar nature.

Despite knowing the importance of not relinquishing the scroll, Naruto knew he was now in deep shit. Just lovely.

He was good, he knew it but even he couldn't handle four ANBU. Neji had been in ANBU for the past three years and even by himself, he'd been more than enough to contend with for Naruto. It was not going to be just any old 'walk in the park' to get himself out of this one. He'd have to run for it.

"Uzumaki," growled the ANBU threateningly when Naruto tensed in anticipation. "Don't even think about it."

"Sorry," answered Naruto with an apologetic smile. "Tsunade-baa-chan would ban me from ramen for the next year if I told you guys what I was doing here."

The ANBU leapt, two coming in fast to restrain him but just in time, Naruto switched himself with the Bull masked squad leader who'd interrogated him. The fourth ANBU shinobi who'd hung back though, was fast and in a flash of silver, he span and his sword ripped across Naruto's stomach. The pain made him gasp in surprise. The blade had bitten in deeply and it took an enormous amount of effort not to bend forward and clutch at the wounded area. Doggedly, he summoned his chakra and in an explosion of smoke, produced nearly three hundred clones. Half of them began attacking the Mist shinobi, forcing them to use encompassing attack type ninjutsu to destroy them quickly. Fire featured prominently and as Naruto had hoped, in the process they created a great amount of smoke as whole groups of clones dispersed. Using the cover it provided, he directed the other half of his clones to scatter in all directions. In the chaos, Naruto made good his escape.

He headed North instead of West as he'd been doing previously. It was impossible for the four Mist ANBU to tell in which direction the real Naruto had gone. The only obvious way he wouldn't go would be the way he'd previously been going. No good shinobi continued in the same direction they'd been heading when fleeing an enemy. They'd weave, backtrack and go in many multiples of directions. It made the journey much, much longer but it also made it that much harder to be caught.

Naruto had planned on going south of the Village Hidden in the Mist where the land was much flatter and easier to traverse when he reached the main island of the Land of Water. Now though, he had only two options: either bypass the main island of the Land of Water completely or else go north of Kirigakure through the more mountainous and heavily forested part of the country. Not being particularly at home on the water, Naruto unenthusiastically decided on the latter option.

Within half an hour he'd covered several miles and left the ANBU far behind. Nearly all of his clones had been dispelled but there were still several keeping the Mist shinobi occupied. His wound ached and he felt nauseous but Naruto didn't dare stop to tend it. Orochimaru's scroll – largely ignored before, now seemed to be burning a hole in his pocket. He had to get it back to Konoha. He'd promised Tsunade (just as he always did) that he would and it'd been years since he'd last failed a mission.

Grimly, Naruto pressed onwards and just as the sun set, he crested a rise and there laid the port he'd last seen over two months ago. It was a welcome sight indeed.

Picking his way carefully down the grassy slope, Naruto approached the port warily. Nobody paid much attention to him. A port was where the people of the world came together and one wounded shinobi was not an uncommon sight. Naruto even noticed two other shinobi (one from Suna and the other from Iwa) with injuries of similar severity while he headed towards the poorer end of town.

The only problem with any port however, was that any local could spot potential trouble a mile off and a shinobi attempting to stowaway on a ship was one such problem. Fortunately for all shinobi, a simple henge was one of the easiest and most basic techniques. For Naruto, it was all that much easier because with his amount of chakra, he could maintain it indefinitely.

He found a large fishing trawler, bound for the main island, down on one of the outermost docks. It was a great, hulking old tub covered in barnacles and with so many patches on its sails it couldn't possibly have a piece of the original cloth left. Disguised as a local fisherman's boy, it was easy enough to get close to the boat. She didn't appear to have a name but she seemed to be manned by only four men, three of which were up the other end of the boat. When the fourth one was called to help them, Naruto quickly looked around to make sure no one was paying any attention and then jumped aboard. He fled below deck, having overheard that the boat wouldn't be leaving for another hour. That meant the boat's crew would be kept busy above deck for the time being until they came below to make a cursory check for stowaways before casting off. Naruto planned to have tended to his wound and be completely concealed by that time.

The area beneath the deck was cramped with barely enough space for one man let alone four plus a stowaway. Never the less, Naruto would make do, just like always. There were some general healing salves in a medical cabinet in one corner which would do for a cut and Naruto had plenty of bandages. He sat down at a small table which had been bolted to the floor and pulled up his shirt.

"Baka fox," grumbled Naruto. The wound hadn't begun healing at all. There was nothing that he could do about the stupid demon though. It was bothersome for it to control its chakra but recently the demon had been feeling particularly spiteful. It was almost petty the way the demonic creature had regulated its chakra and stopped it from rampantly running throughout Naruto's body. It would only heal the most life threatening wounds and illnesses these days and that meant anything non-fatal Naruto had to suffer through, cursing the fact that often the wound was bad enough that it still hurt like a bitch. However, it was all the fox could do in retaliation for its imprisonment but did it have to resort to something ... well ... quite so pathetic?

The wound was barely half an inch deep and probably could have done with stitches but Naruto didn't really have the luxury. He washed it with some water from his dwindling supply and cleaned it as best he could. Opening a jar of salve he'd filched from the medical cabinet, he scooped out a generous amount of the greenish paste that smelt eerily similar to cat vomit and smeared it across the wound. A few bandages later, a light wind jutsu to dispel the smell of the salve and Naruto was ready to find some place to hunker down and get some shut eye.

He moved deeper into the bowls of the ship and finally found the ideal spot. There was a large stack of sacks of potatoes. Climbing up onto the top of the pile, Naruto pushed a few aside and then wedged himself in quite comfortably. He pulled his pack off his back and rested it across his lap. Digging in the side pocket, he found his trusty old chakra blanket. It really was an ingenious invention. A lot of shinobi had them but few remembered or thought to use them. Naruto had received his from the Third Hokage and it'd become a trusty tool during his early pranking days. It was a bit worn in places but it still worked. By running a small chakra charge through it, he could get the blanket to activate a special genjutsu inlaid into the material which would make it camouflage itself with the immediate surroundings. The genjutsu lasted approximately ten hours which was more than enough time to catch some shut eye.

So Naruto laid back and pulled the blanket over his body. He sent a small stream of chakra into the blanket and felt it activate, making it appear as if another sack of potatoes had been added to the pile. Finally able to relax, Naruto pillowed his head on his arm, checked he had a kunai handy just in case and allowed himself to drift off.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Three days wasn't a long time but the three days Naruto spent on bored the small fishing ship felt like the longest of his life. Half an hour outside of the harbour after they'd cast off the small vessel had been set upon by a ferocious storm. Naruto had awoken in the darkness as the ship was tossed and heaved about by the thundering waves. He'd barely slept a wink that night and for the next three days he'd never been more ill in his entire life. Naruto had of course heard of sea sickness before but this was the first time he'd ever experienced it. By the time they'd docked it was all Naruto could do to stagger/sneak off the ship.

He'd stumbled through the dockside harbour, along the winding streets of the town and finally out onto the small dirt track that headed off to the North West before he'd felt some semblance of normality return to his body. Declaring to himself right then and there he'd never bored another ship again in his life if he could help it, Naruto adjusted his pack and decided to pick up the pace.

Naruto was never quite sure whether it was because normally he went on missions with Sakura or the fox usually healed him up but either way, he didn't quite realise until it was too late that something wasn't quite right. Then again, he just blamed the stupid seasickness in this case.

He was already a long way into the mountains when the headache came on, adding to the pain of the aching wound on his stomach. A few hours later and he was beginning to stumble and weave from one side of the road to the other. Naruto tried to brush it off but the light-headedness only continued to worsen and he was sure he was starting to see things. Why the hell was Shino, Ino and Tsunade playing ring-around-the-rosy? And what the heck was Gaara going to do with that pair of scissors and Akamaru? Was Kakashi really trying to make out with a scarecrow over there?

Naruto shook his head. He _really_ didn't feel all that good.

Wait a second – why was he on the ground? How did he get down here? Did he fall? Naruto was sure he'd been walking just fine a second ago.

It was getting dark but Naruto couldn't seem to summon the energy to get up. He was feeling kind of hot and tired and it felt like his very bones ached. What was he doing out here again? He didn't really know but he was sure he'd remember some time soon. It would all be ok. Naruto closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink down into the darkness, never mind the fact that he was lying on some road in the middle of nowhere.

**Author's Note: **How guys. Sorry for not updating in ages. Wow – has it really been two years? Can't believe I put this up in 2008. You've probably forgotten all about this fic by now. Any how, I've been otherwise involved with "Broomsticks & Shuriken" and "Tears for the Dead" among other things. This update was indeed a long time coming. Well I thought this chapter needed to be put in to explain how and why Naruto ended up in the village with Kisho. So the next chapter probably is inconsistent with this one now but that's easily fixed. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Review and all that jazz.


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